Comparing the difference between
translations of Genesis 2:17 for the purpose of understanding if the differences are significant.
Introduction
This article has been prompted by comparing translations of Genesis 2:17. The translations that will be presented and compared are the King James Version (KJV) and the Youngs Literal Translation 98 (YLT98).
While comparing the two translations recently, it became clear there was a subtle but significant distinction between the two. On the surface, the difference appeared negligible; one word of difference.
The YLT98 version introduced the word dying and after a little exploration, it became clear that one word altered the meaning and utility of the verse:
While comparing the two translations recently, it became clear there was a subtle but significant distinction between the two. On the surface, the difference appeared negligible; one word of difference.
The YLT98 version introduced the word dying and after a little exploration, it became clear that one word altered the meaning and utility of the verse:
Young's Literal Translation
and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it-dying thou dost die. Genesis 2:17, YLT98
King James Version
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17, KJV
The significant portions to be compared have been italicized for emphasis.
Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
The difference between the two verses
is slight. Both refer to a day and eating, and both end
with man dying. However, in the literal translation, the word
dying appears to introduce a
function.
If one were to sequence the steps of
each verse, they might resemble something like this:
KJV: day, eating, die
YLT98: day, eating, dying, die
The extra step, of dying, in the literal
translation suggests that a physical/temporal process of dying begins
when one eats from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and terminates with death because of dying:
Dying, adjective, gradually ceasing to exist.
The literal verse shows a complete progression from the action taken at an interval of time, transitioning through a change over time, resulting in death.
The removal of the dying step in the KJV introduces a temporal ambiguity in the logic that says when one eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they will die. When? It appears to be up to the reader.
The problem with the KJV logic is that it suggests the death is going to happen at an indeterminate time. As one of the most critical verses in scripture, the omission will be shown to be unfortunate.
Dying, adjective, gradually ceasing to exist.
The literal verse shows a complete progression from the action taken at an interval of time, transitioning through a change over time, resulting in death.
The removal of the dying step in the KJV introduces a temporal ambiguity in the logic that says when one eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil they will die. When? It appears to be up to the reader.
The problem with the KJV logic is that it suggests the death is going to happen at an indeterminate time. As one of the most critical verses in scripture, the omission will be shown to be unfortunate.
What the literal translation shows is
that on a day when one eats of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, a process of dying starts that at some point will cause man to
die.
The literal translation appears to make the text accessible to any reader, because the process applies to them. Instead of wondering what cause will create the effect and when (or if at all), as in th KJV version, the reader can gain the understanding that eating something unhealthy will hurt them until either they stop doing it, or they die.
If that was all there was to this comparison, it might represent nothing more than a linguistic variance between translations. In the next section, the YLT98 version of Genesis 2:17 will be used to show how it can be used as a template that allows one to explore how a food eaten might contribute to the process of dying that can lead to death.
The literal translation appears to make the text accessible to any reader, because the process applies to them. Instead of wondering what cause will create the effect and when (or if at all), as in th KJV version, the reader can gain the understanding that eating something unhealthy will hurt them until either they stop doing it, or they die.
If that was all there was to this comparison, it might represent nothing more than a linguistic variance between translations. In the next section, the YLT98 version of Genesis 2:17 will be used to show how it can be used as a template that allows one to explore how a food eaten might contribute to the process of dying that can lead to death.
A Structured Test
If the YLT98 translation does introduce a function, it should be possible to set it up and run arguments through it. By using the keywords highlighted above, a template can be created:
The litmus test is to run some logic through both phrases and see how they work. Let's take a quick look at eatimy so we know what we're allowed to eat. Since we're dealing with trees, we need guidance. Let's review the first verse that describes eating from trees, Genesis 1:29:
And God saith, `Lo, I have given to you every herb sowing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is] the fruit of a tree sowing seed, to you it is for food;
Genesis 1:29 YLT98
http://bible.com/821/gen.1.29.YLT98
- Day
- Eat
- Dying
- Die
The litmus test is to run some logic through both phrases and see how they work. Let's take a quick look at eatimy so we know what we're allowed to eat. Since we're dealing with trees, we need guidance. Let's review the first verse that describes eating from trees, Genesis 1:29:
And God saith, `Lo, I have given to you every herb sowing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is] the fruit of a tree sowing seed, to you it is for food;
Genesis 1:29 YLT98
http://bible.com/821/gen.1.29.YLT98
If we're
allowed to eat fruit that sows a seed, then we're not allowed to eat
fruit of a tree that doesn't sow a seed. What kind of fruit doesn't
sow a seed? A parthenocopic fruit, like seedless fig.
Since there aren't many parthenocopic fruits, let's expand things a little and see if we can get clarity. If we take a knife and cut fruit that sows seeds, the knife will contact them (or we can eventually dig them out - the point is that they're there.) That's a pretty simple test to see if a fruit has seed - to cut it in half.
But there are few parthenocopic fruit and most fruit of real trees have seeds. If this test applies to life, there have to be examples of forbidden fruit. What if we take our knife and start cutting things that are like fruit? Maybe we can see if we're walking down a logically sound path.
Since there aren't many parthenocopic fruits, let's expand things a little and see if we can get clarity. If we take a knife and cut fruit that sows seeds, the knife will contact them (or we can eventually dig them out - the point is that they're there.) That's a pretty simple test to see if a fruit has seed - to cut it in half.
But there are few parthenocopic fruit and most fruit of real trees have seeds. If this test applies to life, there have to be examples of forbidden fruit. What if we take our knife and start cutting things that are like fruit? Maybe we can see if we're walking down a logically sound path.
Cutting Fruit That Lacks Seeds
What food shares properties of fruit? One of the main components of fruit is sugar. What if, for the sake of example, a food like fruit without seed is forbidden? For the sake of example, a random selection was made, and...
The test that we have to define (day,
eat, dying, die) in expanded form:
- for in the day
- of thine eating of it
- dying
- thou dost die
- for in the day -> today
- of thine eating of it -> cake
- dying -> short term, but also cumulative & degrading to health
- feeding opportunistic/parasitic organisms
- stressing the pancreas
- drying the liver and skin
- irritation of GI tract and loss of nutrient uptake
- general malaise (headache, nausea, etc.)
- agitation/behavioral issues
- fatigue
- weight gain
- skin related issues (acne)
- much more
- thou dost die -> long term
- loss of mobility
- high blood pressure
- decreased energy levels
- diabetes
- cancer
- cirrhosis of the liver (non-alcoholic)
- obesity
- much more
- death
As logical tests go, it looks like a useful start. This looks
promising because it shows that we can take fruit and
truth test whether we're eating forbidden fruit and how it affects us.
In this case, cake highlights a good first step into a possible interpretation of what fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil may be or look like.
In this case, cake highlights a good first step into a possible interpretation of what fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil may be or look like.
Gradually Ceasing to Exist
The process of dying is a loss of vitality trending towards death. Eating cake, if it is associated with dying, will cause one to continuously die to different aspects of life and health. At some point in the eating of cake over time, the body will lose the ability to fight to stay alive. The effects of the cake can cause a person to die from any one of a number of ailments related to eating it.A Comparative Test of Logic: KJV
Let's test the KJV of the same
scripture. Here's the same test with the text of the KJV:
- in the day
- that thou eatest thereof
- thou shalt surely die
And here's the KJV test of cake:
- in the day -> today
- that thou eatest thereof -> cake
- thou shalt surely die -> when/how/why?
- by choking?
- by allergy?
Without the word “dying” to
highlight the process of what happens over time, we're not able to do
anything logical with the same test. It's very rare for someone to die eating a piece of cake by virtue of
the effects of the cake.
The fact that an apparent logical
fallacy was introduced into the beginning of the Bible is
uunfortunate
By virtue of the literal translation anybody can construct their own logical tests to prove or disprove health of some form of fruit.
Without the process being functional and temporal (over time), the verse is rendered functionally meaningless in the KJV.
In contrast, the YLT98 translation
provides the required context to turn the verse into a function that
takes any forbidden fruit arguments while yielding results. The YLT98 translation of Gen 2:17 becomes a template that directly relates the reader and what they eat to the negative effects over ti
Conclusion
This concludes the comparison between translations of Genesis 2:17. The Youngs Literal Translation 98 and the King James Version are different in that the YLT98 contains the extra word dying.The addition of dying to the verse appears to turn it into a function. The function is eating, and the inputs to the function are fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. By virtue of the following keywords a progression is shown to take place over time that leads from the moment of eating, through dying and to death:
- Day
- Eating
- Dying
- Die
The YLT98 translation of Gen 2:17 can be used to determine when amd how eating fruit of the forbidden tree can cause one to ultimately die.
In contrast, the KJV translation offers no such test. It simply sughests that upon eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil one will die, yet offers no time-frame. In the case of the KJV translation, the reader is left to wonder how or when death might take place for having eaten fruit of the forbidden tree.
